


The Calling

by Empy-Caelum Gardens (MagicBirb)



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Game)
Genre: Follows the canon relatively at first but later diverges, Gen, Honestly I have no idea how to write, May raise the ratings later...?, Will add more characters to the tag as they show up if I actually continue
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-06
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2020-02-27 08:17:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18735172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagicBirb/pseuds/Empy-Caelum%20Gardens
Summary: From beyond the vast wastelands, they call to you to return...Personal interpretation to the Hollow Knight game at the very beginning. Outdated version and first fic onto Ao3.





	The Calling

**Author's Note:**

> I've been very nervous to post this, and I haven't written any writings/fiction in literal years... So I ended up writing my own interpretation as mostly a practice/test fic to get back into writing. Writing isn't my strength honestly, hope you don't mind this.
> 
> It's canon-divergence too but that'll become clearer if I do add more to this. Can't promise it but I'll try, I just wasn't liking the later parts to this fic at all.  
> Anyway, just Hornet right now.

Silence permeated the many shattered, decaying walkways of a once thriving kingdom. In a time long past, these paths shimmered with boldness and confidence, but they now lay forgotten - cursed to be suspended in a state of eternal stagnation. Numerous bugs once traveled through these caverns either with cargo to deliver or without. They filled the air with echoes of their voices, occasional shouts, and friendly conversations from everyday lives. Nonetheless, the silence and abandoned emptiness of the present is a grim contrast for those who remember the past so vividly. Still - even in its ruinous state, Hallownest seems to attract numerous souls from beyond the borders - in search of adventures, mysteries to solve, a place to call home, or even with ill-intent to pillage and defile the ruins.

 

Hornet will make certain none will take advantage of this realm’s pitiful state.

_ Tap tap tap. _

 

Granted, being the self-proclaimed protector of Hallownest is not a task for the faint of heart; only with a strong will and grim determination can she carry on this duty for next millennia or so - however long it takes until the day she perishes. Constant diligent patrols through the once polished but now deserted halls of the rain-drenched city, listening to the echoes of the vast halls of the crossroads littered with forgotten carts and ashes of goods, inspecting the rusted gates and traps for recent spring or tamper among the greenery, observing the scattered good-willed travelers taking newfound residence within or on the surface, and… 

 

_ Tap tap tap tap tap.   _

 

Huffing quietly in trepidation, Hornet hurried her footsteps on the pavement of the crossroad, cautious as to not emit too much sound otherwise while stomping away from the train of thought she deemed unnecessary. Now is not the time to think about that particular subject - lest her emotions get the better of her. No, she must remain calm with a clear conscience at all times, even if most of the passersby are the wildlife that still occupied the ruins. Anything could happen; anyone could sneak up on her, and she must prepare herself with her trusted needle always at hand to deal with such problems should it go sour. 

 

She is no fool however; even diligent warriors and hunters like herself needed a little break to refresh their mind and body before venturing out again. With a pause in her step, she braced herself as she aimed her needle to the direction of an alcove just a little way ahead above the passage leading to another room. With eased practice and honed skill, the needle flew across and struck the ceiling with barely a  _ tink  _ before physics caught up - the force carrying the red-clad huntress to the top within seconds. Pulling the needle out, Hornet sat down with her legs crossed, both in elegance and ready to spring up at any moment, and her back facing the walls. She ignored the odd statue there - Soul Totem, she corrected herself- and inspected the thread tied securely around her waist to the needle in case of weakening for replacement; the long white and near translucent thread coiled at her hips are a part of her pride and joy that links her to her heritage of the spiders, she held high faith in its strength and longevity.

 

With the brief respite and a clear view of the passage below her, Hornet allowed herself to indulge with thoughts and memories of her younger years, back when Hallownest was still alive just before the downfall. The echoes of the past, the laughter of children, the chittering of the adults conversing, her brief moments with her mother… Ah… How innocent and happy her youth was; how  _ brief  _ her youthful purity was on such a short time - with no knowledge of what was to come in the near future.

And then, there was…

 

She lurched forward with an audible gasp as a sudden weight fell upon her, a bead of sweat sliding down her cheek as both mind and body sense the force, despite the lack of a physical presence. No, there’s certainly no one else here but herself and the feral bugs, so what…? A tremor shook the caverns, throwing dust into the air and scaring the vengeflies, tiktiks, and crawlids alike to scatter in seek of shelter. The tremors threw Hornet to the side, only for her to anchor herself by placing an arm on the floor of the alcove to steady herself. Just as quickly as the tremors came, they stopped - but not without one last surprise. A strange roar, loud and angry yet somehow divine, vibrated throughout every edge of the crossroads - the echoes carrying it further and further for Hornet to hear, and just as soon as she heard it, the weight returned full force as an unfamiliar presence prodded at her thoughts.

It felt like the glow of a light but so very  _ invasive _ . It was a stroke of luck for the huntress to have been trained to steel her mind when necessary in battle or otherwise, so it took a matter of moments before she successfully blocked out the invasive intruder from the recess of her mind. Gingerly, she pushed herself back up to her knees, poised at ready and reached for the needle that fell from her grasp from the mental invasion, clutching it tightly in her hand in berating for her carelessness. Still… That wasn’t natural… no one should be able to perform such a feat.

Unless… No!

 

_ Sibling! _

 

Hornet shot out from the alcove faster than record time, a clear precise destination in mind as she hurried through the roads in a feverish rush, everything around becoming a blur with her attention focused on one thing. Something has happened to her sibling…! Even in her frenzied state, Hornet could sense whispering voices creeping in on her mind. She would have done the same to the voices as she did with the invasive light had she not sense something familiar in them. Hearing vague sounds that resembled words, reaching out to her, calling for help… Ah!

 

_ Sibling! Do not fret, I’m on my way! _

 

The voice did not relent in their frantic whispers for help, instead, they only repeated their desperate cry like a broken record echoing in the huntress's head. In turn, Hornet’s response consists of only two words on repeat the entire way as she sprinted through the abandoned crossroads.

 

_ I’m coming. I’m coming. I’m coming... _

… … 

… … 

… … 

**Author's Note:**

> *Nervous laughs as I post this*  
> (I'm rather slow in writing too, so... Please be patient with me!)


End file.
